Well, time to build that decontamination chamber and start stockpiling food.Figure the best way to survive an outbreak of Ebola would be to just quarantine yourself away from the outside world until it passes.Am I correct, or am I missing something?

Start to only bleed from the eyes? From what I understand once it's full developed, you bleed from every opening. Ears, mouth, anus, eyes, nose, wherever. So if you see someone looking like Carrie White at her prom, then they might have Ebola.

It is amazing that it has managed to remain a relatively contained disease. But it is worth noting that there is a disease which kills up to 90% of the infected people. There will be a point in the future, sadly, where a disease like this will become widespread. It is what happens in nature when a species overpopulates.

Richard C Stanford:Well, time to build that decontamination chamber and start stockpiling food.Figure the best way to survive an outbreak of Ebola would be to just quarantine yourself away from the outside world until it passes.Am I correct, or am I missing something?

Pretty much. It's extremely virulent and (luckily) only gets passed through bodily fluids. So, kick out anyone displaying the first hint of flu-like symptoms (they can come back if they don't start bleeding from the eyes in a few days), and leave the dead bodies alone. Maybe throw some charcoal on them, toss a Molotov cocktail and stay up-wind until everything is burned away.

/Hospital workers and close family members that take care of the sick are the most prone to catch it.

ArtosRC:AcademGreen: It's pretty hard to get ebola. It's a terrible disease, but there is a reason why outbreaks don't last too long.

It's transmitted via touch, right? It's in a population center, right? Doesn't take much for a carrier that's not yet showing symptoms to bump into others and pass it on.

/To say nothing of touching door handles and the like

It's transmitted through bodily fluids and kills very quickly, so it doesn't spread as fast as you would think. So unless a person is hemorrhaging blood near you and you get it on you, you probably won't get it. Part of the problem with the outbreaks has been due to how the local culture performs death rituals.

machoprogrammer:It's transmitted through bodily fluids and kills very quickly, so it doesn't spread as fast as you would think. So unless a person is hemorrhaging blood near you and you get it on you, you probably won't get it. Part of the problem with the outbreaks has been due to how the local culture performs death rituals.

Would sweat constitute as a bodily fluid for transmission, or is it primarily a blood thing? I ask only because of where Guinea is and how warm it is there.

Richard C Stanford:Well, time to build that decontamination chamber and start stockpiling food.Figure the best way to survive an outbreak of Ebola would be to just quarantine yourself away from the outside world until it passes.Am I correct, or am I missing something?

Nope that's a sound strategy - prep for 6 mo of food /water - also good idea to make your house look like it's got Ebola running rampant all over everything. Keeps the looters away.

youmightberight:Richard C Stanford: Well, time to build that decontamination chamber and start stockpiling food.Figure the best way to survive an outbreak of Ebola would be to just quarantine yourself away from the outside world until it passes.Am I correct, or am I missing something?

Nope that's a sound strategy - prep for 6 mo of food /water - also good idea to make your house look like it's got Ebola running rampant all over everything. Keeps the looters away.

Richard C Stanford:Well, time to build that decontamination chamber and start stockpiling food.Figure the best way to survive an outbreak of Ebola would be to just quarantine yourself away from the outside world until it passes.Am I correct, or am I missing something?

Yep, unless it goes airborne, then we're looking at a 12 monkeys scenario.

I thought the big worry was mutation to an airborne pathogen. As someone said above, sooner or later some virus will take out a big chunk of us, I for one hope it's a virus that makes you feel totally great for 50 years before killing you.

If only there was some process from the past that when employed could screen out infected people before they were let into the country. Somethng like what they did at Ellis Island. Too Bad common sense was the first casuality.